A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society

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Summary: Peterson walks us along a gritty path of ascent.
Review: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

This is one of Eugene Peterson's earlier books, published about twenty years ago. During a lecture in May of 1999 in Vancouver, B.C. he remarked that many people had said to him that they loved the title, but hadn't quite gotten around to reading the book. This, of course, might be a sign that it's a bad book. Or it could be an indication that it simply doesn't deliver what some folks are looking for. I would suggest that it's a very good book indeed, but that you need a certain orientation in order to read it.

You need to love the Bible, for one thing. I don't mean love the Bible sentimentally. You need to be one who is willing to embrace the Bible for exactly what it is as it defines itself. It is not a promise book or a guide to "effective" living. Nor is it a book on how to keep out of hell. It is rather an immensely frank compilation of writings that point out God's presence in human history as a whole and God's presence in each person's life. It becomes God's word to us by virtue of its insistence upon God's "take" on reality at all points. That may not be so popular. In fact, I'm sure of it. It is certain that this reading of the Psalms of Ascent will not go down that well with the North American Christian who is looking for inspiration or solace or affirmation or any of the other self-gratifications we tend to require.

On the other hand, if you like to get to the bottom of things, Peterson's your man. Witness this excerpt:

"A common but futile strategy for achieving joy is trying to eliminate things that hurt: get rid of pain by numbing the nerve ends, get rid of insecurity by eliminating risks, get rid of disappointments by depersonalizing your relationships. And then try to lighten the boredom of such a life by buying joy in the form of vacations and entertainment. There isn't a hint of that in Psalm 126."

These psalms chronicling the rhythm of yearly pilgrimages to Jerusalem, a return to the presence of God, are handled with such grace by Peterson that one wonders how we've read them all these years without hearing the humble clumps of singing Jews walking along the dusty, gradual incline of the shephelah to the holy city. Speaking of the pilgrim path that we share with the Jews of the first millenium A.D., Long Obedience includes the following:

"A person has to be thoroughly disgusted with the way things are to find the motivation to set out on the Christian way. As long as we think that the next election might eliminate crime and establish justice or another scientific breakthrough might save the environment or another pay raise might push us over the edge of anxiety into a life of tranquility, we are not likely to risk the arduous uncertainties of the life of faith. A person has to get fed up with the ways of the world before he, before she, acquires an appetite for the world of grace. Psalm 120 is the song of such a person, sick with the lies and crippled with the hate, a person doubled up in pain over what is going on in the world..."

Peterson is no enterprising preacher repackaging his sermons in volumes of garish luminosity for eager visibility in the local Christian consumer shop. He is at once an authentic pastor and a poetic, writing scholar. So hitch up your pants, turn your head sideways, spit, and step into the gracious grit of Eugene Peterson.

Rating:
Summary: correction of misinformation in review posted by tvtv3
Review: From the title, A LONG OBEDIENCE IN THE SAME DIRECTION would seem to be a book full of deep spiritual insight for the committed Christian. However, that's not really the case. A LONG OBEDIENCE IN THE SAME DIRECTION is an examination of a collection of Psalms in the Bible that are known as the Songs of the Ascent. After having the book recommended to me, I thought it would delve deep into the meaning of discipleship and perhaps provide insight on my Christian walk. The book provided neither. I believe there are two reasons for this.

1. Eugene Peterson uses his own translation of the Bible, The Message, as the scriptural references for the entire book. Now, I don't deny that it took Peterson a very long time to write The Message. However, The Message is a paraphrase of the Bible and not an actual translation. Therefore, much of the original meaning of the psalms examined, is lost and the reader has to trust Peterson's interpretation rather than an actual translation.

2. The book could have been a great piece of scholarship and reference (like Chamber's MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST), but it fails to actually dive deep into the text and therefore remains more like a summary of scripture, sprinkled with a few historical facts. Had Peterson fully explored the text (and perhaps the reason he didn't is because he was relying upon his own paraphrase), the book could have been much more meaningful than it is.

Overall, this is a book that I would recommend for Christians that haven't been walking with Christ for long. It does not work as a piece of scholarship, but does work rather quite well as a monthly devotional.

Rating:
Summary: Correction
Review: I haven't read the book, I just wanted to correct something. tvtv3 said that The Message is "not an actual translation" of the Bible. In truth it is not. A translation is a paraphrase taken from another English version of the text (like the NLT). When a text is translated from the original Hebrew and Greek it's called a version (NKJV, NIV). That's what The Message is, a version.

Rating:
Summary: Correction
Review: I haven't read the book, I just wanted to correct something. tvtv3 said that The Message is "not an actual translation" of the Bible. In truth it is not. A translation is a paraphrase taken from another English version of the text (like the NLT). When a text is translated from the original Hebrew and Greek it's called a version (NKJV, NIV). That's what The Message is, a version.

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Summary: Kickstart for the God-seeker.
Review: If you find yourself in need of a reminder of the basics of Christianity, or needing to learn them for the first time, then read this book. It makes a really good devotional book because it's based on Psalms 120-134...

The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of five is that it tends to get a little repetitive in spots. Otherwise it's a great book.

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Summary: A great meditation
Review: Perhaps the best thing about this book is the premise it is written on -- that being a Christian means embarking on a journey, away from the world, toward the City of God. Not an original idea, but certainly one we can stand to be reminded of often, and one I'd love to see more books devoted to that.

Eugene Peterson finds in the Songs of Ascent (Psalms 120-134), a cycle of songs sung by Jewish pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem to worship, a wonderful parallel to the modern (and timeless) Christian pilgrimage. Each chapter is a meditation on one of the songs, and Peterson draws out the ways each of them show us an aspect of the Christian faith (Repentance, Providence, Worship) and how they relate to each other. (It is natural that the journey begins with repentance and ends with blessing; the rest of the sequence is just as intuitive.)

Eugene Peterson has a poet's heart and a theologian's training, but the former prevails. Others may be perturbed that he does not explain exactly why suffering exists in the world; I am grateful that instead he chooses to meditate upon the way that suffering is a central ingredient of human experience...."in suffering we enter the depths; we are at the heart of things, we are near to where Christ was on the cross."(134)

I enjoyed and appreciated this book not because it taught me a lot of new things, but because it caused me to slow down and reflect; to remember things I had learned, and see them with new eyes. Like the songs sung on the journey, it is not so much intended to impart new information, but to bring back into mind (and spirit) the old things, the ancient things -- the things that have the power to redeem us and heal us.

Rating:
Summary: A great meditation
Review: Perhaps the best thing about this book is the premise it is written on -- that being a Christian means embarking on a journey, away from the world, toward the City of God. Not an original idea, but certainly one we can stand to be reminded of often, and one I'd love to see more books devoted to that.

Eugene Peterson finds in the Songs of Ascent (Psalms 120-134), a cycle of songs sung by Jewish pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem to worship, a wonderful parallel to the modern (and timeless) Christian pilgrimage. Each chapter is a meditation on one of the songs, and Peterson draws out the ways each of them show us an aspect of the Christian faith (Repentance, Providence, Worship) and how they relate to each other. (It is natural that the journey begins with repentance and ends with blessing; the rest of the sequence is just as intuitive.)

Eugene Peterson has a poet's heart and a theologian's training, but the former prevails. Others may be perturbed that he does not explain exactly why suffering exists in the world; I am grateful that instead he chooses to meditate upon the way that suffering is a central ingredient of human experience...."in suffering we enter the depths; we are at the heart of things, we are near to where Christ was on the cross."(134)

I enjoyed and appreciated this book not because it taught me a lot of new things, but because it caused me to slow down and reflect; to remember things I had learned, and see them with new eyes. Like the songs sung on the journey, it is not so much intended to impart new information, but to bring back into mind (and spirit) the old things, the ancient things -- the things that have the power to redeem us and heal us.

Rating:
Summary: a message of encouragement
Review: this book was my first experience with eugene peterson and it nearly blew me out of the water. it exposes so much of the lie that is in the american church. living the christian life is not easy. i used to feel so guilty because it was for me and all around was this lie that life would be easy if you just followed jesus. and also that following jesus was about me and my life. peterson takes us out of ourselves and frees us to experience true joy in this difficult endeavor of following god.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: This book was recommended to me, but I was disappointed. Although it is a good book, it wasn't great. Perhaps my level of expectation for religious books has risen. The ideas seemed to be too general, although the first part of the book was good.

Rating:
Summary: correction of misinformation in review posted by tvtv3
Review: tvtv3 says in his review, "Eugene Peterson uses his own translation of the Bible, The Message, as the scriptural references for the entire book."

This is incorrect.

Quoted from the copyright page of the book: "Biblical quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from The Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyrighted 1946, 1952, 1971, 1973, and are used by permission."

This book was written in 1980 - a long time before Mr. Peterson finished his own translation, The Message.